KARMA PHUNTSOK (Australia)

I was born in 1952 in Lhasa, Tibet. My family and I, fled Tibet after the Chinese invasion
in 1959, escaping into India as refugees.

I studied drawing and painting through my school
years in India. In 1973 I studied Thanka Painting with a master of traditional Tibetan
Thanka painting in Nepal.

Since then I have been making paintings based on Tibetan
Buddhist deities.

In 1981 I migrated to Australia, and now live in the "Bush" north of Kyogle with my wife
and son.

My paintings are collected world-wide, and published in various books and
magazines. My recent paintings are mostly experiments, interweaving traditional
techniques and symbols, with modern inspirations.

"The art of Karma Phuntsok is a unique and dynamic expression of contemporary Buddhist
Art. Though formally trained as a traditional Thanka painter, Karma applies different
techniques and materials in his work, often creating futuristic expressions of the
time-honoured craft. The startling beauty and richness which graces his work is influenced
by his diverse life experiences: from a childhood in Tibet under Chinese oppression to life
as a refugee in India; his life in the Australian Bush, and the veneration with which
he holds His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Internationally acclaimed, Karma's work is scattered
throughout the world, in private collections and galleries, and in Australia at the Art Gallery
of New South Wales and Queensland Art Gallery." (by David Templeman).